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© 1998 Art Adams All rights reserved.
Web site created by Art Adams
Located near the banks of the Rio Grande River in the
lower Rio Grande Valley of Hidalgo County is La
Lomita Historic District. The district contains the
La Lomita Chapel, 122 acres of the original ranch lands
of the Oblate Fathers, and St. Peter's Novitiate. In
contrast to the flat, coastal plain which
characterizes most of the valley, the property contain a rise of
about 25 feet, which has given the name "La Lomita" or
"little hill" to the area since the late eighteenth century.
Set on this highest point is St. Peter's Novitiate, visually
dominant from all approaches to the site. The
hillside slopes are interlaced with trees, grass and brush. To
the northwest across a canal and levee lies the La Lomita
chapel.
The original adobe chapel built in 1865 was
eventually destroyed by Rio Grande floodings in the late
nineteenth century. In 1899 a small 12' by 25' stuccoed stone
structure replaced the first mission chapel. Although
lacking in detail, the chapel reflects the austere
and modest life of the missionaries. The simple building
is a rectangular stone building with a small open bell
tower over the main (north) facade. The walls of the north
and south facades extend beyond the wood shingled,
pitched roof to form a parapeted gable. The window
and door openings all have simple wooden post and
lintels. A double door on the north facade marks the
only break in the stuccoed stone wall surface. The
small bell tower consisting of a shingled tripped roof
supported by short, square posts with brackets is the
building's only ornamentation. A cross rises from the
top of the hipped bell tower. Two six over six light
windows and a door form the opening in the east facade, while
the south facade contains three windows.
Although void of many architectural embellishments on
the interior, the scale and simplicity have charm and
intimacy. One of the most interesting features is the
exposed framing and open truss work of the ceiling.
The floor is of stone set on a packed dirt surface. The
pews and railings are original to the chapel and have been
restored. However, the original altar was almost
totally destroyed by vandals and a smaller altar was brought
from France to replace it. The chapel is open and
frequently used as a chapel and place of retreat by
people living in the vicinity. Also, Mass is
periodically celebrated by the Oblate Fathers. After the
missionary Oblates relocated their main church in Mission in
1908, the chapel became somewhat neglected.
At intervals, the people of Madero, a small river
community, used the church ancl the surrounding
buildings. However, despite the fact that the chapel
was never completely abandoned, its infrequent use and
subjection to the hurricanes in the late 1920's, in
1933 and again in 1935 took their toll.
During this period the old frame buildings which had
surrounded the chapel and served the old padres as
barracks, dining room and grains-torage, as well as
the blacksmith shed, were destroyed. Finally, in 1949,
the 100 year anniversary of the arrival of the Oblates
into South Texas from France, the chapel was dug out of
the brush and chaparral and restored.
The chapel and surrounding 122 acres are presently
leased to the La Lomita Lions Club of Mission and
plans are underway to further restore the chapel. An
old bake oven shaped like a hive and an original water
well are also on the property.
In 1912 the Oblate Fathers selected the hilltop to
locate the two story brick St. Peter's Novitiate. With
characteristics of the Mission style the building has
a tiled low pitched roof ending in a curvilinear gable
on the main (north) facade. Flanking the central gable
are twin towers with arched openings and pyramidal tiled
roofs. Between the towers is a central bay which
contains a triple arched entry framing the first
floor porch, while carved brackets elaborate each corner of
the second floor balcony. Dominating the east, north
and south facades is the one story arcade of
semicircular arches encircling the building. An
impost is marked on this floor by a molded stringcourse. On the
second floor segmental arches form the openings for a
gallery across the north facade.
The interior plan of the basement, first and second
floors contained a central hall with rooms on either
side.
The large rectangular building contains a half
basement of 8,040 square feet, a first floor of 5,300 square
feet with 2,740 square feet of porches, and a second floor
of 6,050 square feet with porches of 1,610 square
feet. The basement contained a food storage and vegetable
cleaning area, a kitchen, dining room, laundry,
storage, meeting and recreation rooms. An open stairway at the
south end provided access to all levels. The first
floor contained a chapel, offices and bedrooms for
administrative and teaching staff. The second floor
contained a large classroom, library, meeting rooms
and a dormitory for Novitiates. The restored building
will utilize the basement and second floors as educational
and training facilities for the MH/MR center, while
the first floor will house an art museum. With the
establishment of the MH/MR Center on the property,
additional buildings to house boarders have been
built in a compatible architectural style.
The sketch map included with the submission indicates
the proposed, as well as the present modern
structures. The structure numbered " 3" and indicated as
"residence" is a two-story frame house used as an old
convent. Built ca. 1912 the building housed an order
of nuns who resided on the property during the period
that St. Peter's Novitiate was used as a training center
for priests. Immediately to the southeast is a proposed
building to be used as a health care facility.
Southeast of these buildings is a group of four proposed
buildings, only one of which is presently built. These will be
bunkhouses for the student/workers at the MH/MR
center. Located to the east of the bunk-houses is a
dining room/kitchen facility. All of the new
structures have been built in an architectural style compatible
with the Mission Revival style of St. Peter's Novitiate.
The present bunkhouse and dining room building are
one-story rectangular stuccoed structures with a red
tile pitched roof and galleries supported by heavy timber
beams on front and rear facades. The proposed
bunkhouses will be built in the identical style. The
modern structures, together with St. Peter's
Novitiate, are located on the only hill within the area. The
mission lands were named "La Lomita' or "little hill" for
this geographical feature. This fact was one of the main
considerations when deciding to include the modern
structures within the district.
The focal point of La Lomita Historic District is the
small chapel of the old La Lomita Mission. Besides
the architectural charm of the small rural chapel, the
Mission served as an important impetus in the settlement of
the area. The surrounding 122 acres contained within the
historic district include the only hill evident
within the area. Due to this geographical feature, owners have
adopted the name "La Lomita" for this section of the
land since the late eighteenth century. This land is
a section of the original "porciones" inherited by the
Oblate Fathers in 1871. Built on top of the "Little
hill" in 1912, St. Peter's Novitiate served as a novitiate
training center for student priests until the late 1950's.
Together The Mission chapel, farm lands and novitiate
represent not only a tangible reminder of the evolution of the
Catholic Church in the lower Rio Grande Valley, but
also document the important role the Oblate Fathers
played in settling this southern tip of Texas.
In 1767 by order of King Carlos III of Spain the
government began a more just and equal allotment of
territory by laying out "porciones." Starting at the
banks of the Rio Grande River, narrow tracts of land
stretched inward so that each tract would have free access to
the river. An average "porcion" consisted of about
two-thirds of a mile on the river bank and stretched
inland from eleven to sixteen miles. "Porcion"
fifty-five was, originally ceded to Jose Antonio Cantu ca. 1770
and he established a large ranch called "Rancho La
Lomita", named for the one small hill on the
"porcion". After the land passed through several owners, Rene
Guyard bought the property in 1851. Six years before
Guyard had purchased "porcion" fifty-seven.
Guyard, a native of France who first settled in
Reynosa in 1800, was a devout Roman Catholic. In 1852 he
became acquainted with the missionary Oblates of
Immaculate who had landed at Port Isabel three years
before. Seeking spiritual guidance for those who
worked on his extensive ranch lands, Guyard
encouraged the priests to travel through his
property. As Guyard's ranch became a way station between the
Brownsville headquarters and the Roma Mission, the
Oblate Fathers built an adobe chapel in 1865 and
named it La Lomita Chapel. In 1871 Rene Guyard died
and willed "porciones" fifty-five and fifty-seven to
the Missionary Oblates.
The Oblate Fathers retained ownership of the property
and rented it to various ranchmen in order to receive
some economic return. The ranch increasingly became
an economic burden and the priests were forced to
turn to other means of financing the upkeep of the
property. One solution was an agreement with the Wells Fargo
Company to rent out a few of their houses and allow
the mission to be used as a remount station for the stage
coach. However, the financial burden eventually
caused the Oblate Fathers to sell all the land except for
the La Lomita Chapel and a few hundred acres surrounding it.
Flood waters eventually deteriorated the first adobe
chapel and a new stone structure was built in 1899. A
village sprang up around the chapel, which stood as
the center of a small plaza. The Oblate Fathers built a
rectory, guest house, quarters for the lay brothers,
a blacksmith shop and a buggy shed. In addition, a
dozen or more huts used by families of the Mexican laborers
gathered in the area. But in 1904 the railroad
arrived in Hidalgo County and by 1907-8 the people of the
Mission village began to move to the new settlement
located along the railroad approximately five miles
north of La Lomita Mission.
In honor of the La Lomita Mission, which had helped
bring the first settlers to the area, the new town
took the name Mission, Texas. In 1908 the post office was
transferred from La Lomita to renamed Mission. The
town had been founded on the old mission lands
originally owned by the Missionary Oblates. The
Oblates purchased three plots in the new town and in
1910 and built Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
However, the chapel was never completely abandoned.
Periodic services have continued for the ranch people
in the immediate area since that time.
In 1912 the Missionary Oblates chose to build a
Novitiate on their land in Hidalgo County. Selecting
the most inspectacular view, the three story brick
building was located atop the little hill. St. Peter's
Novitiate was named in honor of Father Peter Keralum, O.M.I., who
tragically died while on a tour of the South Texas
Missions in the 1870's. He was one of the early
missionaries to serve the La Lomita Mission and was a
founding father of Oblate work in Texas.
The building was used as a Novitiate Training Center
for student priests until the late 1950's. Recently
St. Peter's Novitiate and 100 acres of farm lands have
been leased by the Missionary Oblates to the Tropical
Texas Center for Mental Health/Mental Retardation (La
Lomita Farms) for a period of 50 years. The MH/MR
Center will farm the surrounding acres and use the
Novitiate for educational and vocational training for
the mentally retarded. In addition, one floor of the
building will be used as an art museum and community meeting
space for the people of Mission, Texas.
La Lomita Historic District was nominated as a
district rather than nominating the two individual buildings,
for the significance of the buildings is tied so closely
to the land. Serving as both an historical and visual link
between the two buildings the 122 acres is part of
the original lands owned by the Oblate Fathers and used
for ranching and farming. La Lomita Mission was first
founded to provide religious training and services
for the members of the "Rancho La Lomita.'' When the owner
the ranch died he willed all of this property to the
Oblate Fathers. The 122 acres included within the
district are a portion of the remaining 300 acres the
Oblate Fathers still own. The Mission Chapel was
founded as a rural outpost and, as the district's
focal point, the chapel retains this rural character.
The other significant structure, St. Peter's
Novitiate, represents the evolution of the role of the Oblate
Fathers in the region. Built on top of the hill for
which "Rancho La Lomita" and "La Lomita Mission" were
named, the Novitiate's significance is also tied to
the rural surroundings. The site was chosen in 1912
because it was a secluded one and, once again, the
rural setting is important in maintaining this ambiance.
The specific boundaries were chosen because these are two
parcels of land which the Oblate Father's have
recently leased and on which restoration is taking place. St.
Peter's Novitiate and 100 acres of land are presently
leased to the MH/MR to adaptivily restore the
Novitiate as a center for the mentally retarded. The remaining
lands will continue to be used as farm and ranch
land. The Oblate Fathers have also leased an additional 22
acres west of the canal to the city of Mission. The
city is planning to restore the chapel and utilize the
remaining acres for a park. -Texas Historical Commision
South Texas Paranormal Investigations (mypage.goplay.com/paranormal)
© 1998 Art Adams All rights reserved.
Web site created by
Art Adams